The Hoosier Southern Railroad is a

short-line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...

owned and operated by the Perry County Port Authority (PCPA) of

Perry County, Indiana Perry County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 19,338. The county seat is Tell City. It is the hilliest county as well as one of the most forested counties in Indiana as it ...

History

The railroad originally consisted of a 22.3 mile line between the Indiana communities of Cannelton and

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

that the Port Authority purchased from

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

in 1991. The line had been unused since the mid-1980s and Norfolk Southern was considering abandonment prior to the Port Authority's purchase.

Purpose and services

PCPA's goal in obtaining and putting the Hoosier Southern line back into service was (and is) to attract new industry to Perry County. When

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announced plans to build a facility just north of

Tell City Tell City is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, Perry County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 7,272 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city i ...

in 1995, the Port Authority undertook construction of a spur to that site. In 1996, an additional 2.4 miles of trackage between

and Lincoln City was added to the HOS system. This trackage was also purchased from Norfolk Southern. Combined with the Tell City River Port on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

at Tell City, the Hoosier Southern provides multimodal transportation to serve the needs of businesses in both

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

and Spencer counties. Though the Hoosier Southern is no longer part of the Norfolk Southern system, it interchanges with the NS system at Lincoln City. NS gives HOS customers a direct connection to much of the eastern United States, with lines to such centers of commerce as

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Communities

The Hoosier Southern passes through the following Indiana communities: * Cannelton *

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

* Evanston * Buffaloville * Lincoln City

Sources

Official website of the Hoosier Southern Railroad
with link to Perry County Port Authority operations

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929111757/http://www.ispls.org/pdf/RailroadListIN.pdf Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors: Railroad List {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoosier Southern Railroad Indiana railroads Transportation in Perry County, Indiana Transportation in Spencer County, Indiana 1991 establishments in Indiana